Pipeline Operator Enbridge Defeats Lawsuit over Crude Oil Transport

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): An Illinois federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit accusing pipeline operator Enbridge of blocking a rival from building a terminal to ship Canadian crude oil by barge from the Chicago area to refineries in the Midwest and the Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. District Judge April Perry in Chicago ruled, opens new tab that plaintiff Ducere had failed to adequately allege that Enbridge was violating antitrust laws.

The lawsuit, filed in February, said Enbridge illegally monopolized transportation services and refused to deal with Ducere. An earlier version of the lawsuit named Exxon as a defendant, but Ducere subsequently dropped the company in an amended complaint.

Ducere's attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, Enbridge said it welcomed the court's order.

"All along we believed that there were no viable antitrust claims. The facts of this matter did not support such claims,” Enbridge said.

Ducere said it had a deal with pipeline owner Mustang, a joint venture between an Enbridge subsidiary and an Exxon subsidiary, to pull crude from Mustang and put it on barges.

Mustang subsequently declined to allow Ducere to build a facility. Ducere alleged Enbridge’s representatives on Mustang's board helped to scuttle the business arrangement.

Enbridge had argued that it cannot be held responsible for Mustang's actions, Perry wrote.

“Really, the only rival who Ducere alleges needs access to the Mustang pipeline is Ducere itself,” the judge wrote.

The judge said Enbridge’s price hikes after the proposed terminal was shelved were not enough to advance Ducere’s lawsuit. “Ducere alleges nothing about these hikes to suggest they are out of the ordinary,” Perry wrote.

Perry also said one company refusing to deal with another does not always violate antitrust laws. She said Ducere could amend its lawsuit and re-file one of its claims.

The case is Ducere LLC v Enbridge (U.S.) Inc, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, No. 1:24-cv-01217.

For Ducere: Rex Sharp of Sharp Law

For Enbridge: James Herbison of Winston & Strawn

Courtesy: www.reuters.com